Albany district to sell 2 more buildings

Voters asked to approve sale of surplus schools in May 15 budget ballot

Published 10:06 pm, Friday, March 16, 2012

Photo: Skip Dickstein

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The Albany school district is closing and selling two more of its buildings. The district will close the former Philip Schuyler Elementary School on Western Avenue in Albany, N.Y. (shown) and the Sunshine School in Lincoln Park. The sale of both buildings must be approved by voters during the May school budget elections. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union) less

The Albany school district is closing and selling two more of its buildings. The district will close the former Philip Schuyler Elementary School on Western Avenue in Albany, N.Y. (shown) and the Sunshine ... more

Photo: Skip Dickstein

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The Albany, N.Y. school district is closing and selling two more of its buildings. The district will close the former Philip Schuyler Elementary School on Western Avenue and the Sunshine School in Lincoln Park(shown). The sale of both buildings must be approved by voters during the May school budget elections. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union) less

The Albany, N.Y. school district is closing and selling two more of its buildings. The district will close the former Philip Schuyler Elementary School on Western Avenue and the Sunshine School in Lincoln ... more

Photo: Skip Dickstein

Albany district to sell 2 more buildings

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The Albany school district is closing and selling two more of its buildings.

The sale of both buildings must be approved by voters during the May 15 school budget elections.

"We're continuing to downsize to try to make our operational costs more efficient," business superintendent Bill Hogan said.

The district has sold four other buildings in the last 36 months, including the former Philip Livingston Magnet Academy and the former School 12 at Western Avenue and Robin Street. Hogan said all of the buildings needed significant investment and netted the district millions of dollars in needed revenue at a time when state education aid was being slashed.

The district is facing a budget gap in the millions of dollars for next year and is considering the elimination of another 50 employees.

The Western Avenue building now up for sale was Albany High School from 1913 to 1974 and then served as the Philip Schuyler Elementary School. Like many other district buildings, it is a distinct piece of Albany architecture, located just feet away from the University at Albany's downtown campus. The school is now home to some of the district's alternative education programs and has been a swing space when schools are undergoing renovations. It could be eligible for historic preservation tax incentives to renovate.

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The old high school was recently appraised for $2.5 million. Hogan said UAlbany officials have expressed interest in the building and have included it in some of their master plans for future expansion.

The former Sunshine School has been vacant since January 2011. The city and school district spent months in talks with The Boys & Girls Club to move its headquarters to the old school, which is at the top of Lincoln Park, but a resolution has not been reached. The building was appraised for $155,000.

Hogan said the sales were also a necessary response to the enrollment of 2,000 city students in charter schools.

The district's long-range planning calls for the operation of fewer school buildings. The district's sale of the buildings will also place some on the tax rolls for the first time, most notably the former Philip Livingston Magnet Academy, which is to be transformed into a retirement home. The old School 12, near Washington Park, is now being renovated into an apartment building.